


What you find beautiful, I now beginning to hate

by 0Hedvig0



Series: Childhood friends [4]
Category: Assassin's Creed - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Blood and Injury, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, M/M, Post-Canon, Pre-Relationship, Spoilers, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:13:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28248192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/0Hedvig0/pseuds/0Hedvig0
Summary: It was making him quite uncomfortable, the stares at his back were giving him the chills, like something strange was brewing.Contains spoilers from the game, post the last arc.Just something I needed myself.
Relationships: Eivor/Vili, Eivor/Vili Hemmingson
Series: Childhood friends [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2042719
Kudos: 44





	What you find beautiful, I now beginning to hate

**Author's Note:**

> WARNING! Mentioning severed body parts, blood and crazy visions that no normal human being would ever vision!
> 
> Okay, this is barely corrected, just written, makes sense in my head and now published so please have that in mind ^^', 
> 
> But other than that, please enjoy :)
> 
> This is hastily written (I have art and writers block)  
> English not my first language  
> Not beta read, I'm just writing for fun.

Clouds had moved faster than he predicted and Eivor found himself pushing Mirrsu to get them out of the pouring rain- drops so cold his skin stung from being struck by them. 

Eivor sighed a relieved “Finally” when seeing the smoke of a small village between the trees, blinking the rain from his eyes. He gave the black stallion a soft caress on the neck “Soon, my boy” when leaning closer to get away from the wind as much as possible. 

There was not a single dry spot on his body. Every inch of fabric, leather and skin was dripping when Eivor jumped off Mirrsu to lead him towards the stable. The white markings on the black coat were starting to fade and it reminded Eivor that he needed to seek out Valka to get the blessing renewed.

The stableboy was sweeping the floor when hearing footsteps and turned to greet whoever it was, but his brown eyes widened when seeing the cloaked Dane walking in with two large axes on his back and piercing eyes who resembled the ice on a cold winter's day. 

The boy’s throat bobbed when he reached a shaking hand to take the reins, but Eivor held them closer to himself which spooked the younger one - looking to be only eighteen winters old- to take a step back.

“No one but me can handle him” Eivor explained and the stableboy was surprised by the gentle tone and a calmness settled in the stable. Those exceptional eyes - who fascinated the younger one- moved to the beautiful horse “Do you have a free spot for just one night?”.

“I-I-I” the boy’s voice was shaking which made Eivor turn to look at him and when the lips on the Dane were drawn into a smile, the boy gulped and felt his heart race by the sight. 

“Easy, I’m in no mood for killing” the voice was filled with mirth and even if the words were kind of crude, the stableboy was calmed by them which made him straighten and show more confidence when he nodded.

“Yes, follow me” the boy waved his hand to Eivor to follow.

Eivor gave away a deep sigh, shaking his head because he would never figure out how the human kind worked. One second they all feared him, but then just a moment later they often accepted him and the quick turn of things had never made any sense to him. 

Eivor whistled the tune which signed to Sunin who quickly landed on his shoulder. The raven wearing the same fading markings as the black stallion, started cleaning the feathers from water and Eivor gave his friend a soft scratch on the head. Mirrsu’s jealousy showed when the horse snorted at him and Eivor gave him a pat to keep the calm energy in the stable. He was truly blessed having those two on his travels.

***

It was always an interesting experience, arriving somewhere new. Eivor has never been this close to the Western part of the map, and by the looks they gave him, neither had the village had any visitor looking like him. 

While the door closed behind Eivor’s back, the sounds of chatter in the tavern quiet down and heads turned towards the newcomer. Sunin was still perched on his shoulder- closed eyes and head tucked close to Eivor’s neck for warmth- and the sight was probably making him look even more like a wildling. But ignoring the others when walking closer to the counter, the sound slowly came back and soon the chattering was back to full- their gazes burning at Eivor’s back.

“Hello, I’m looking for somewhere to sleep” his English still had a thick Norse accent, but the flow felt more comfortable by now. Eivor leaned heavily against the counter while waiting for an answer- pulling the hood off his head and took some time to check out the smaller tavern- but he was met by silence. 

He was going to repeat himself -turning back his attention to the barmaid- when the words died on Eivor’s lips by how the barmaid stared right into his eyes. It was making him quite uncomfortable, but he raised his eyebrow in a silent question -not wanting to give a bad first impression of his people and back away from the woman- and the barmaid suddenly startled, like she woke from a trance. 

“I’m sorry, what did you say, stranger?” the woman smiled awkwardly at Eivor, who cleared his throat and straightened with his hands still on the counter.

“I was just wondering if there is a place where I can stay?” Eivor tried to keep his voice friendly, but the stares at his back were giving him the chills, like something strange was brewing. And it wasn’t unusual to get these reactions, but Eivor was tired and felt the coldness straight into his bones and wanted nothing more than to be back in his bed.

“Yes, of course,” now the barmaid gave him a more genuine smile “I have rooms upstairs, but only the smallest room is unoccupied”.

Eivor sighed relieved- feeling lucky for not needing to spend the night in the stable- and rushed “It is fine, I will take it” and reached for the key the barmaid handed to him. But she didn’t let go of it.

The woman leaned closer to Eivor, her eyes steady on his “But before you go, I just need to tell you, that you have the rarest eyes I have ever seen”.

Taken aback by the strange comment, Eivor twitched his lips into something he hoped was similar to a smile “That is something I have been told since little” and the comment got the woman to let go of the key and she nodded at him.

“Yes, rare and most beautiful eyes” she mumbled while taking a step back and her face changed into someone who was in deep thought, which gave Eivor the chance to slip away towards the stairs. At his back her voice was heard “I will bring you some drink and food”.

***

Closing the door behind himself, Eivor mumbled “Crazy crone of a woman” and walked to the old battered bed and sat. 

If he had calculated correctly, the sun would soon be up and hopefully it would bring greater weather than what was at that moment. The rain was still pouring down heavily and drops of it had seeked its way through the roof, but none was dripping over the bed, which was the only thing Eivor cared about.

Sunin stretched his neck and nibbled playfully at Eivor’s ear, who chuckled at the raven and plucked him from the shoulder.

“I know you are tired, friend, but I need you to deliver a message” Eivor reached for his bag and scribbled a message on some leather that Vili would understand “Give this to Arse-stick, or he’ll worry why I didn’t return on the second full moon, as I said I would” he told the bird and took one of the leather band from his braid to tie the message to Sunin’s leg. 

The raven quickly took his leave and left Eivor by the window, who sighed deeply with the thought that this was going to be a long night.

***

Eivor was awakened by a knock on the door and just for a moment, his mind couldn’t remember the time before falling asleep. The dreams haunting him were still affecting his thoughts when he pulled himself sitting. Eivor swept his hand over the face where icy blue eyes shone of every death he caused.

Another knock on the door made Eivor groan a “Come in” and it opened to show the barmaid. The sight drained the fatigue from his body, leaving him alerted with every muscle in his body.

The barmaid raised the tray in her hands, showing the tankard and fresh baked bread “Just some food for the morning” she explained and walked closer to the table next to the bed, where Eivor sat and followed her movements with eyes like a hawk. She started unloading the tray and placed it with careful flow in her hands “The rain stopped some time ago, and I thought some food would do you good before continuing your journey”. 

Her eyes never met Eivor’s, which gave a sense of embarrassment coming from her about yesterday and he slowly stood with a bow to his head.

“Thank you, that is very kind of you” and his soft words brought a rosy color to the barmaid’s cheeks. 

She was definitely embarrassed, which to Eivor was unnecessary because now when he’d been given some sleep, it was easier to understand that the reaction yesterday was to her a natural one.

Eivor took a hold on the tankard “I am sorry about yesterday, barging in like that,”, the woman held the tray close to her chest, looking at the floor “you seem to not be used to travelers”. 

The woman shook her head - blonde locks bouncing by the movements- and Eivor saw that even if she’s older, it’s not by much.

“No, we are too deep into the forest to get any.” her voice was soft to Eivor’s ears, she cleared her throat and waved a hand over her shoulder “It is us who need to travel to get what we need. That we can not grow ourselves, of course”. Her green eyes met Eivor and once more he saw how they widened and she went into the same trance like yesterday. 

Eivor smiled at her “Well, thank you-” he waited for the woman to react, and once more she startled and whispered “Lona”. Eivor nodded at the mead and bread “Thank you for the food, Lona, what do I owe you?”.

Lona quickly shook her head when the sound of silver was heard “No, I don’t need it” and her hand placed itself over Eivor’s to stop him from taking out any silver. 

With confusion written on his face, Eivor took a swig of the mead and it felt so nice to his dry throat that he eagerly downed the whole lot of it.

“Okay, but I always pay my debts,” he explained while leaning against the table- breaking some bread and putting it into his mouth “do you need something that needs to be done?” he said, chewing and shrugged. 

But Lona slowly shook her head - eyes steady on his face- and Eivor watched when her lips grew into a smile he only saw in his nightmares, every inch of innocence was gone and what he saw in Lona’s eyes made his whole stomach turn. That’s when he saw that her gaze was fixed on his eyes.

“Those beautiful eyes of yours” she whispered and the soft voice sounded almost growly “I want them”.

Eivor was quick to back away, but it was the only thing he did, before sinking into blackness.

***

Alder couldn’t get over the meeting with the Dane, it was his first. Before he’d only heard about them, stories told in the bigger villages when he visited to trade och replenish their stock. Every face telling the stories always showed fear when talking about the humans clothed in animal skin - always looking like they’d bathed in blood- coming from the land beyond.

But, thinking about this Dane, the one he’d just met, Alder stopped sweeping to just lean against the brush -brown eyes searching into the memories. The thing about animal skin seemed to be correct, but the blood was nowhere to be seen, and now Alder was determined to tell his own stories when traveling. No one told about the wild golden hair with braids he’d never seen any English woman with. Or, the distinguished color of his eyes. Or, the strong looking face with the wide jaw. Alder knew, if the Dane would wear the clothes of an English man, he still would be looking like one of a kind. Like something out of this world. If the other Danes looked anything close to that one Dane, they really were beautiful people. 

Alder sighed, but stilled when he noticed movements to his right. With brows drawn together, he saw the tavern’s barmaid walking towards one of the cellars.

“Wonder what Lona’s up to” he mumbled and placed the brush against the wall. The sight was an unusual one. At this time of morning, Lona always was busy with baking bread. 

***

A deep guttural groan left Eivor’s splitted lips. His shoulders ached of hanging in chains in the middle of a room he certainly knew was underground.

He’d awoken with nothing but his trousers- the crazy crone had the decency to not have his bare ass showing. At first he’d been alone, but she’d soon joined him, talking about how Eivor was too beautiful to exist and that as soon as she laid her eyes on him, she’d known she had to have him. Which at first, if you ignored where he was, sounded nothing like crazy, but now he knew what she meant. 

Lona held the knife in her hand, feeling at the edge “Not sharp enough” she continued sharpening it “I want clean cuts, not jagged ones. Do not want the skin to be ruined”. She smiled at Eivor, who gave her a look which if it could kill she’d be dead in an instant “But first I will take the eyes, those I know how to keep fresh”. Her face changed into thinking “But it is the skin which will be the tricky one” she tapped the blade against her chin “How will I keep it from rotting when I have flayed it from your body?”.

Eivor’s heartbeat quickened. He was in the middle of the woods, in a village not even marked on the map, with people he doesn’t know, all chained up in an underground place where probably no one will hear him if he screamed, or wouldn’t care. 

“You wouldn’t dare, you erratic fool.” Eivor growled and pulled at the chains- aching shoulders screaming at him to stop- but even if gravel fell down from the ceiling the hold on the chains didn’t give in. The ice blue eyes glared at Lona’s green ones “My jarl will never stop searching. He will find you, and when he does-” Eivor words rumbled “he will not stop, it doesn’t matter how much you beg, and you will, you will desire to die, but he won’t let you”.

To Eivor’s dismay, his threatening words fell on deaf ears. Lonas gaze was in trance again, staring straight into his.

“Yes” she whispered, taking a step closer and reaching a hand towards Eivor “Yes, just like that” the hand caressed his cheek “That look in those eyes, mesmerizing”.

***

The trace of her was gone, Alder couldn’t find where she’d gone. He scratched his head while looking around in the empty cellar. There were no footsteps and wherever he looked, dust covered every surface.

“Strange” he mumbled to himself when leaving the dark place, out to the early morning. He was certain Lona had taken the way to this cellar, but he could be mistaken. 

The train of thoughts was interrupted by sounds of hooves closing in and it reminded Alder about his job. If he wanted to keep it he needed to go back and continue his chores, even if the Dane kept his mind busy.

Alder trudged up the small hill making the cellar, but stilled when he saw the one on the horse. The deep red cloak had to be triple the size than Alder’s own cloak and the black fur covering the broad shoulders looked as big as Alder himself. But, the size seemed to be needed when Alder took in the sight of the large man. The brown tufts of hair were ruffled by the wind and were matched with a beard, but it was the wild eyes searching the surroundings which brought Alder into action. He knew what, or more like who, that Dane was searching for.

And then their eyes met and by the look of it, that Dane saw something in Alder’s eyes, because he was suddenly on the ground, striding his way towards Alder. Those wild eyes became more evident the closer the Dane came to Alder and with it even more terrifying. Hands shook by Alder’s sides when the Dane towered over him, much taller than the other one.

“Where is he?” the voice was lighter than you could expect by the large frame, but the menacing tone was making up for it.

“I-I-I” Alder swallowed, and the scene was similar to the one he had with the other Dane, but this one didn’t react to Alder’s fear. Instead the face grew colder and looked like he was just seconds from slicing Alder into halves “I don’t know. But!” he hurried when the Dane wasn’t pleased with the answer “He isn’t in the room he borrowed and no one has seen the barmaid”.

The muscles on the Dane’s arms bulged- looking as big as Alder’s head- when he crossed them “So? Talk!”.

Alder’s eyes nervously flickered back and forth “Something feels off with her, I have always had that feeling around her. And I just know” Alder jerked his head for the Dane to follow “Come, I saw her walking this way”.

Alder returned to the opening to the cellar. If it were him -if someone brought Alder to a secluded place like this- he would’ve been worried, but the Dane didn’t show any worry on his face, probably not seeing any potential threat in the young stableboy. 

Walking into the cellar - the Dane bowing his head to go through the opening- Alder, once again, didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary.

“I came here, but as you can see” Alder held out his hands, spinning slowly “nothing.” but the Dane seemed to ignore his words.

“Eivor has been here” the Dane said instead.

“Eivor,” Alder repeated faintly to himself “so that’s his name” which made the other man snort. 

“Another one” the man mumbled with a sigh and shake to his head, which mostly seemed to be to himself, before returning to their task “There must be a lever or something here leading to a hidden place” he started searching with his hands along the walls.

“No, no I don’t think so” but for each word slowly leaving Alder’s lips, the Dane found a lever, pulled at the lever, the place started shaking and a wall began turning. Nodding, Alder mumbled “And there it is”.

“And there it is” the Dane said mockingly with a raised eyebrow before turning and disappearing into the blackness of the new opening.

“Wait!” Alder quickly grabbed a torch, lighted it and with just a moment of hesitation, he followed the Dane. He needed to get the owner back to the horse, or else he hadn’t done his job correctly, or at least that’s what Alder told himself.

***

Dried blood covered Eivor’s chin as he tried to keep his wavering eyes steady on the furious woman before him. Her hand was kept upwards to reduce the blood flow from the missing finger, the severed finger lying on the earthy floor. But the suffocating smell of blood wasn’t only hers, Eivor’s back was ripped open by the lashing she’d given him by the sudden anger coursing through when he bit the finger off her hand. 

Fortunately the blood loss had made Lona weak just some lashes in and forced her to stop, but she’d made enough damage to keep the blood trickling along Eivor’s back.

“You made me ruin the skin” Lona growled while pacing “I had such plans. Such visions!”.

“You made the fault in touching me” Eivor growled back, stretching the chains until they gave a loud protest “You will never make it. If not I, someone will kill you”. His words brought even more misery, because Lona stilled and turned her head towards Eivor, then she nodded in a quick pace.

“Yes, yes that is true” she said in a mumble and moved to the bench where she’d aligned several kinds of tools, choosing one of them she raised it, her eyes studying the iron tool which had resemblance to a spoon “I need to start now”.

Eivor tried coming up with something- fight or flee- he truly did, but what she’d fed him before left his mind in a jumble and body fragile to be used by anyone. To the flickering light of the several candles, Eivor struggled to keep himself awake and with his feet bound to the floor he- like a predator- followed Lona’s movements when moving towards the fireplace with the iron spoon.

“I will try to take my time” she smiled while watching the iron turn into a glowing red color, her eyes moved to his “I do not want it to be done too quick”. She lifted the spoon- glowing almost like a torch- and turned to Eivor, still staring into his eyes “I want to see the warmth gnaw itself into the flesh. Hear the sound of it to the music of your scream” and the tone of her voice didn’t match words. 

It was a sickening feeling seeing someone looking and sounding like someone’s mother or sister, but at the same time being delusional to think a behavior like this was alright. The churn in Eivor’s stomach worsened by knowing Lona wouldn’t even feel any kind of remorse when his body had turned stiff and cold.

“No, no, no. Don’t you dare faint” Lona took a hold on Eivor’s head when it began wobbling and his gaze unsteady “I need to hear the sweet sound of your voice, my dear angel”. Eivor snorted at the nickname.

“Uly, azy, rone” Eivor’s tongue felt too big in his mouth when trying to talk and he suddenly saw two of Lona dancing before his eyes.

All of a sudden, Eivor’s head fell forward and he gave away a groan by the sudden movement. His ears picked up a gurgle before something dropped to the floor.

“Dear God, what is she?”

“A dead one.”

Feet scuffed in front of Eivor.

“Vili?” Eivor’s voice reminded himself of a scared fox, one which Eivor wasn’t proud of, but the sound of the other drengr made his heart sing and eyes want to weep.

Warm and calloused hands cupped his cheeks and in a gentle movement raised his head and held it secured. Eivor huffed quick breaths when opening his eyes and meeting Vili’s, feeling so much relief in his body. He never was afraid of death itself, but this incident reminded him that he prefered to not leave this life, not yet.

“Thank, Freya.” Vili breathed, closing his eyes while leaning his forehead against Eivor’s “Your heart is still beating”.

Still feeling woozy- like he drunk all of the settlement’s crates with the strongest brew- Eivor forced his lips and tongue to cooperate “Whacha doin he?” and he could detect a small smile on Vili’s lips.

“I wanted to surprise you, Stink-head” Vili began, his thumbs caressing Eivor’s cheek “Did not like the idea of you suffering without my company, so close to home”.

***

Eivor took a hold of the tankard the stableboy reached towards him with a grateful smile. Vili eyed the younger man while standing- arms crossed- leaning his shoulder against the wall. The nervousness rolling off the stableboy, the ticks in his hands, throat bobbing each second, flickering gaze -up and down between Eivor and floor- made Vili roll his eyes.

“D-do you feel- do you feel alright?” the man’s voice shook a little when asking Eivor and Vili had some difficulty deciphering if the cause of it was the roll of events or the presence of the blond vikingr. 

Eivor gulped down the mead, dragging his hand over mouth “Yes, thank you. I feel much better”, but Vili could see the truth behind those lies. Eivor nodded at the stable boy “What’s your name?”.

“Alder, it’s Alder” the voice sounded proud that Eivor wanted to know the simplest thing like a name, but to Vili’s surprise Eivor had a smile on lips when nodding while standing.

“Well, Alder” Eivor let the name drag on his tongue and the stableboy gulped when the Dane neared. Suddenly Alder stared into those glorious eyes again and a hand grasped his neck “My people always give back when being in debt, so name it and I will try to fulfill it”.

In an instant a thought appeared in Alder’s head, having that face inches from his own and those eyes looking deep into his, like the man could see into his soul. Alder opened his mouth to say his request, when Vili had enough of it all- seeing what was going to happen- and pushed from the wall.

“Well, that wish needs to be fulfilled another time” Vili wrapped his arm around Eivor’s shoulders and pulled him away from the other man “Come on now, I need to give your wounds proper care at home”. Vili punctuated the ‘I’ and ‘home’ while keeping his gaze steady on Alder, who took a step back by the force of it.

Eivor gave a tired chuckle when Vili was on his way to sit behind him “I can ride on my own, you know” but Vili ignored his words and sat behind him on Mirrsu, holding Eivor secured between his bigger arms, grasping the reins.

“I can’t have you falling off,” Vili mumbled -mouth next to Eivor’s ear- while steering the black stallion to leave the village “too much trouble” and Vilis’s lips turned fond when feeling the weight of Eivor against his chest- leaning backwards into his arms.

“You’re such an arse, Arse-stick” Eivor’s voice was barely heard- despite the quietness in the forest- and sure, soon after his head lolled to the side, resting against Vili’s shoulder.

But the smile on his lips faded to the soft breaths of Eivor. Vili let Mirrsu lead the way while he tried to wrap his head around what just happened. Instincts craved him to build a fort and lock Eivor inside of it, just to keep him from harm's way, but they’re drengrs. A drengr’s whole life was about being in battle, in one way or another. It was the hard truth, but ever since being reunited with Eivor he’d a battle of his own- one which grew for each moment they shared together.

Eivor has become Vili’s strength, but just as much has he become his weakness. 

Glancing at the sleeping face, Vili let go of the reins with one hand to brush some strands of hair -escaped from one of the braids- from it. Careful to not disturb his sleep, Vili then grabbed onto Eivor’s hand, letting their fingers intertwine. This had to be enough. 


End file.
